QC Prez Named Chair Of College Association

Felix Matos Rodriguez, the president of Queens College of the City University of New York, has been elected as board chairman of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).

The HACU governing board announced on Nov. 2 that Matos Rodriguez would replace William Flores, the former president of the University of Houston, Downtown, in the position.

Matos Rodriguez has served as president of Queens College since 2014 and been a member of HACU’s governing board since 2012.

“The work HACU does each and every day has had a beneficial impact on Hispanic students, both in the United States and abroad,” Matos Rodriguez said. “I am truly humbled to have the opportunity to serve as board chair as we continue to advocate for students around the world.”

Matos Rodriguez has worked in both academia and the public sector. He was previously the president of Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College and acted as Puerto Rico’s cabinet secretary of the Department of Family Services, where he formulated public policy and administered service-delivery programs, such as child-support enforcement, adoption and foster care and child and elderly protection.

Established in 1986 and currently representing more than 470 colleges and universities and committed to Hispanic higher-education success in the United States, Puerto Rico and several other countries, HACU aims to promote the development of member colleges and universities; improve access to and the quality of postsecondary education opportunities for Hispanic students; and meet the needs of the business, industry and government communities through the development and sharing of resources, information and expertise.